Hello fellow flingers of pointy things!
We've got plenty of new stuff to tell you about
so I won't waste any time! Well maybe just a
little bit... :)

We got our house sided a couple weeks ago and by the
second day I heard things bouncing off of my new target
wall. I looked outside and the siding crew was on break.
They were taking turns throwing their roofing hammers at
the softer logs on my range :)

Within about 10 minutes they were going for double spins
from about 14 feet (with some luck), and about 10
minutes after that their hammer was broke. But according
to them it was fun while it lasted.

The last day they were here I brought out a bunch of
knives, spikes, and hawks and let them throw them all.
They had a great time, (of course :) and said they would
be back to throw again later in the Summer.

And I look forward to it!

NEW STUFF
So anyway, on to the new stuff! We've got new pics
under our CUSTOM DESIGNS link from Lew Costley of
Battle Creek, MI. The pics are of his Custom Bowies.
They sure are "purty"! :) Just follow this link to take
a look:

There is also another design for an outdoor target that
was sent in by Chuck Fogarty of Countryside, IL. Chuck
has quite a few nice designs for outdoor targets shown.
If you need any ideas for a target be sure to check
these out:

COMING SOON!
I am going to be adding another section for SPEARS! I
was never really interested in them until a great friend
of mine (Joe Darrah) made me a beautiful one that
is so much fun to throw!

I'll be adding pics of my spear soon so if anyone has
other pics or stories about throwing spears, or
information on making your own spears etc... please
feel free to send them in and I'll include them in the
new category!

UPCOMING EVENTS

THE CHUCKER 2002!
This will be the 2nd year for the "Chucker" event! And
it sounds like there's going to be even more fun and
"chucking" of steel than last years event!

The event is this coming Saturday, July 27th in
San Diego, CA. For more info or details about the
rules, events, targets or prizes/raffles, just click
on this link to check out the updated info:

LOCAL THROWERS
If you are looking for local people to learn from or
just hang out with and throw sharp pieces of metal, then
this is the place for you. Ya never know, there could be
another thrower that lives right in your neighborhood!

Currently there are 102 throwers listed in 33 states, and
15 different countries! And more people are signing up
every week. Soon you'll be able to throw with someone
no matter where you go!

Going on vacation? Check the page first to see if there
are any people listed near your destination. Its easy to
bring your knives just about anywhere you go, and you
won't have to haul your targets from home. So c'mon and
send in your info!

Follow this link for more details or to see if there are
any throwers that live near you:

OTHER UPDATES
When you visit the site you'll also notice a new
QUICK IDEA and lots of interesting posts in our
THROWZINI FORUM!

The forum is also a great place to ask questions about
ANYTHING that has to do with the sport of throwing. You
can learn tons of useful knife and axe throwing tips, or
learn about upcoming events or how to make a target,
just by visiting our homepage and clicking on the
THROWZINI FORUM link.

I have been throwing knives and pointed things since my
boyhood days when I was in the local Scouts Group.
I think I was about 13 years old at the time and one of
the pieces of equipment that you were supposed to have
was some sort of knife.

Penknife, Sheath Knife, it didn't matter. But it was
handy especially when the group was at camp.

I remember this time well, the war had only finished a
few years before and money was in short supply, so it
was certain that my parents would not be able to buy me
a decent knife.

I can't remember how I acquired my sheath knife? I must
have swapped with another boy or something like that.
I remember it was a small knife about 6" long with a
leather rings handle and a small hilt of brass. The
blade was about 3-4 inches long, in a small bowie shape
and it had a small leather sheath that would fit to the
scout belt.

This knife was my pride and joy! My prize possession!
To own such a thing in those times was a real joy. So
this knife was my most treasured thing. I would polish
the blade and the small brass hilt, boot polish the
handle (when my Dad wasn't looking cause it was his
polish) and the knife was never very far from me.

I would take it to school, in my pocket, so as to look
at it now and again, but to keep it away from the
teachers eyes or it would have been confiscated.

I remember one school sports day while watching the
school cricket team play, a bunch of boys were all
congregating at the edge of the pitch, playing at
something. So I went and joined them.

They were throwing their penknives at pieces of paper
that were laying on the grass to see if they could stick
them. Mostly the knives were just bouncing around, but I
was interested and soon I was trying as well. I remember
I couldn't stick it into the ground because the handle
was awkward to hold so I tried throwing from the blade
and I got some sticks at about 3 feet.

The other boys got fed up and wandered off but I carried
on fascinated! This was to be my first encounter with
knife throwing.

After that I was to practice at every opportunity. I
couldn't get enough of it, at home, in the garden, in
school at the floorboards (careful not to get caught).
Anything that looked like a target was in trouble but
only at about 4-5 feet away.

At this time there were lots of bombed sites in every
street. Houses and buildings were leveled by bombing
raids, some still half standing. It was very dangerous
but it didn't stop us kids from wandering, and climbing
around these ruins.

At that time, my best friend Peter Jones and myself
would wander on these sites, as did many other kids and
they became regular haunts.

On these sites there was an abundance of things to throw
at! Doors and beams still standing, joists and all
manner of wooden things, so I was in my element. Anything
and everything that might present a stick was thrown at.
My friend Peter was not into throwing so he would wander
around the site looking for bits and pieces, while I
threw merrily away.

I remember I acquired lots of pointed things around
these sites, like long nails, old kitchen knives, bits
of metal that I could make a point on by rubbing it on
the kerbstones, etc. And I would put tape around one
end to make it look like a handle. (I used to like the
thrower to look like a knife as much as possible.)

A couple of years had passed and I was still throwing
at every possible chance. And I could now get sticks up
to about 6-7 feet most of the time. But I did not think
of what I was doing, I just did it.

Sadly, my beloved sheath knife eventually fell to
pieces. But it had a good run. I had looked after it
well for a couple of years, but I really shouldn't have
thrown it about.

There was an occasion when I did something really
stupid. My friend Peter remembers it to this very day.
We were out in the local park one day, climbing the
trees and generally annoying the park keepers (climbing
was not allowed). And I, as usual, was throwing my
knives about at the trees.

Peter was in a tree about 8 feet off the ground and I
said to Peter, "I'm going to stick my knife up the tree
a bit, throw it back down for me."

He said "Don't hit me" or words to that effect. I threw
the knife and I was about 2 feet too high. The knife
thudded into his right leg! I can remember being worried
about the trouble I was going to be in rather than the
pain my friend was in.

There was blood everywhere. We tied our handkerchiefs
around his leg and struggled home. He told his Mum that
he had fallen on something sharp (A true friend :)
And I believe he had stitches in the gash. He bears the
scar to this very day. I never tried that trick again!

Part 2 of 4 Continued in our next issue.

Article Contributed by:

Roy Hutchison
London, England

Stay Tuned! In one of the upcoming parts to this story,
Roy explains his half spin technique that he uses for
all distances, from 1 to 20+ feet!

=============================================

3. RECREATIONAL KNIFE THROWING VIDEO

If you want to learn the insider SECRETS, TIPS and
TRICKS that the masters use to hit their mark every
time, then John Bailey's Recreational Knife Throwing
Video is for you.

Scott Gracia, or the Great Throwzini, as he is sometimes
called, asked me to take a look at the 13.5" Dragon
Knives quite some time ago. It has been some time since
those huge chunks of steel arrived here, but finally I
am done with my review. I had a great time torturing
these knives and would love to torture some more!
"heh heh heh" (My evil laugh ;)

Well to start off, I would like to let you know what my
initial reaction to the Dragon knives was; "Wow, these
are big heavy chunks of steel!", pretty much sums up my
first thought at picking up these knives.

As a novice knife thrower I was surprised to find that
the edge was dull, but after throwing these beauties a
bit I realized that as blade throwers a dull edge is a
good thing, I still have all my fingers. You see for a
throwing knife it is the point that does the work, not
the edge, and these babies bite deep into the target!

I realize most of you reading this would probably go out
and throw a new pair of throwing knives just as soon as
you got them. But you see, I am an Arnis (Filipino Stick
Fighting) Instructor and some what of a Barbarian so
the first thing I did with the Dragon Knives was go to
my heavy bag and see what kind of a striking weapon
they made.

I know this is not what they are designed for, but you
know what, as an impromptu "sap" or "black jack" they
are not bad. I am pretty sure they have enough weight
to break bone and cause some serious damage. (I told
you I am a Barbarian).

Well that was enough bag training. It was time to throw
these puppies. Now I think I mentioned the Barbarian
thing, and while I know there are certain things you
need to throw a knife properly we Barbarians do things
our own way.

A soft wood target on a solid base, and some space being
two very important things. So down to my cramped
apartment work shop I went and I set up a crappy plywood
target. This was not the best target, but within twenty
minutes I was hitting point on with pretty much every
throw.

But since the plywood was loose, very hard and on an
angle the knives were flying everywhere. Boing! Krang!!
Sproing!! (Good comic book sound effects eh? :)

The knives bounced off the pavement, then the bikes
stored in the workshop and came back to me a few times.
(Good evasion training, but please don't do this kind of
thing, you can get seriously injured. Being someone
who's idea of fun is counting "stick hickies" after a
hard bout of sparring I may be living proof of the old
saying, "No Brain, No Pain")

Now I know why you knife throwers use proper targets and
throw outside, my way just lets me get more interactive
with my knives. While the cement may have done some
cosmetic damage (like chipped paint), the knives were
unharmed. You could probably put these knives through a
chipper and kiss the chipper goodbye but the knife
would be OK. Like I said they are one heavy piece
of metal.

After adding a nice softwood board to my target I
started throwing again. I was sinking them every time.
I was beginning to get the feel for throwing. And I was
having a great time too.

My limited space only allowed me to do half turn throws,
but I am now good at those. The board I was using is now
split into kindling. I have to say I love these knives.
For a martial throwing knife I still prefer the
Accuflight Easy Stik Pro, but for the fun and challenge
the Dragon Knives are pretty hard to beat, and that is
what they are designed for, not as a self-defense
weapon.

As a martial throwing weapon, they aren't half bad
though. Although it would be fairly hard to make these
stick in the confusion of combat, that would not matter
too much as the sheer weight of the knife would cause
major damage. Broken ribs, smashed teeth and other
grievous harm would come just from being hit by the
blunt side of one of these knives. If you hit point on
I am pretty sure most attackers would be finished.
But as I said before that is not what these knives are
designed for.

As a past time and sport these knives are great! There
is nothing like the feel of sinking big steel. I can't
describe it, you just have to go out and try it for
yourself. It's great!

Article Contributed By:

Joel Huncar
Arnis Instructor
Canada

For more details or to see pictures of the Dragon
Knives that Joel is talking about, just follow this
link:

ADVERTISE WITH US
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line, for more details.

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to Get Maximum Response to Your Ads.

=============================================
A FEW WORDS FROM OUR SPONSORS

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** The above advertising claims and offers are the sole
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============================================
If you have any questions about throwing that you
would like answered in one of our upcoming issues,
or if you have an article or story about throwing
that you would like to share, simply send an
e-mail to:

sgracia@wi.rr.com

with QUESTION FOR NEWSLETTER in the Subject Line,
and your name and question in the body.

============================================
(Copyright 2002, Scott Gracia,
The Great Throwzini.)
Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the
following credit appears in full:

Reprinted with permission from Scott Gracia's
The Great Throwzini Newsletter.
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